Its on sale now, but I want to get clearification before I buy.

1. Are there any content (dlc,classes,character,stages,levels,etc.) locked to that online account?

2. Can I play multiplayer without linking/locking to an online account from within the game without needed ouside software (hamachi, BS, etc.)?
(such as one player set up a game or server, and another player connect)

edit:typo

basically I want to know if the online account isn't needed to access all of the games content.
(I want to avoid using yet another online account)

If I want to use leaderboards and such, then I want the option to use the online account, not be forced to use it.

No. You can use all content without ever going online or making an account.

I haven't played multiplayer (nor do I intend to), so I can't answer this.

Thanks for answer on 1.

For 2, anyone that owns the game and has it installled, wouldn't mind double checking for me?

It was addressed a few days ago in the sale thread.

So there is no drm-free multiplayer built into the game yet. I'll buy blackguards instead, thanks.

Direct ip/lan option would be good enough for me, like all other multiplayer gog games, sheesh.

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That's because people such as myself spent quite a lot of money on an advertised DRM free product from a specialty DRM free service that ended up not being DRM free (not fit for purpose under Australian law).
My 1 star rating will remain, though it isn't there just as a knee jerk reaction to it having DRM, but the fact the game has glaring problem.

My 1 star rating remains because I pre-ordered and paid a premium for a full new release DRM free product; the DRM Free product I paid for was not delivered a substandard quality DRM'd product was provided and seeing how my purchased revolved around it being hot off the press DRM free the company that put in the DRM is fairly punished for treating me like a criminal straight out the gate by being similarly slanted for it's draconian management of my digital rights.

You reap what you sow and if I had known that the game would have DRM'd Multiplayer I would not have purchased the product, and especially not at the exhorbitant prerelease price gouge.

Tactics like this that aim at getting people to feel that DRM is a grey area, that they should not be 'so militant' about is actually hurting the industry; maybe not as much as piracy, but none the less.
Publishers keep blaming piracy for low day 1 sales which they believe is where the lions share of profits come from.
Well people like me are not going to continue to pre-order for day 1 sales when this is the respect we get for a) not pirating the game, & b) paying a premium for the luxury to be a disrespected unpaid beta tester.
You sir can shove your notion that we are just whingers up your lower pipe and smoke it.

and GOG should be striving to take the lessons of the 1980's drm to the modern age of the publisher and tell them to go shove their DRM products up their asses.
DRM is not a 'grey term', because we are not idiots.
You pay for a full game DRM free, then that includes the multiplayer component; it also includes how it interacts with it's later components (expansions & DLC).
You don't get to pick and choose which intrinsic part of the product you'd like to keep the DRM on.
THE PRODUCT is either DRM Free or it's not.
If it's not DRM free it doesn't belong on GOG.com and it most certainly shouldn't be misrepresented as a DRM free product BY GOG.com who are taking money for a product that is not what is being paid for.
They have been a complicit accomplice in the fraud that is AoW3; simple as that and it's time we stop making up excuses for these companies and demanding they get it through their thick skulls, DRM Free means DRM Free.

All I know is I can play Offline and save as well without any interfering 3rd party DRM. That's all I need.

That said, I'm not blind to this issue and will be carefully watching GOG in future games...

I'm late to this conversation. The recent sale brought me here since I wanted to buy this.

I'm ok with keys, but I'm not ok with having to create an account to register the key, and having to use that account to play online or LAN games. Keys that don't require activation are not DRM in my eyes. The game and keys will continue to work if GOG or Triumph ever disappear. Anything that requires creating an account to play a game is DRM.

And for those that say "but you have to have an account to buy and download the game...", that's not DRM. That's making a purchase. Once the game is downloaded, I never have to log in again to install the game.

As long as account creation is necessary, I'll stay away from this. Maybe once it's down to $5 I'll buy it. If Triumph wants to rent me the game, I'll pay rental prices for it, much like I do with Steam games.

I might even be ok with Triumph accounts being optional for accessing the official server if you could bypass creating an account if you wanted to play on a LAN or a direct IP connection to a friend.

Same here. I didn't buy it even at the last sale simply because playing online requires me to create an account. If that becomes optional, I'd gladly buy it.

I really wanted to buy this, and was very tempted to just an hour ago at the end of this sale. However I'm here to support truly DRM free games. I wonder how many gave in and accepted a product with DRM here.

If AOW 3 is now hiding VPN behind an account login to connect to Triumph servers first, then I take back what I said before... now you have every right to complain about this. But looking at the guide, it doesn't look that way... can someone confirm?

http://ageofwonders.com/vpn/

While I can't confirm, I don't believe that's true. My understanding of it was & reading through that guide is the corporate firewall was blocking the return game traffic and/or the game was getting confused as it looked like the same IP for both connections. AFAIK, the patch just properly routes the actual game traffic over the local/VPN network VS trying to go out onto the internet & then come back in. I would be quite happy to learn I am wrong though.

Unbelievably after fifteen pages of accusers and apologists shooting back and forth, I am still unclear whether proper multiplayer is available without signing into a 3rd-party account.

Could any owner who has actually tried it please supply a definite answer? I'm okay with limited hoop jumping like VPN, but not actually cracking the software. Is it possible to play multiplayer on more than one computer (i.e. not hotseat) without 3rd-party sign-in?

Edit: Sorry, I thought the game page didn't mention VPN, but it does. So the answer to my question is no.